


Dinner Party Excerpts

by bossxtweed



Category: Dracula - Bram Stoker, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-01-23 08:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12503044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bossxtweed/pseuds/bossxtweed
Summary: A brief excerpt from chapter seven of my j/h story! After their encounter with Dracula, Jekyll and Utterson are not doing so well.





	1. Chapter 7 Excerpt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief excerpt from chapter seven of my j/h story! After their encounter with Dracula, Jekyll and Utterson are not doing so well.

Unfortunately, when Utterson awoke, he observed a dark stain on Jekyll’s pillow. His throat tightened. Jekyll was yet so pale, and though he heard it possible to die of fright, the manner in which Hyde had clutched his throat, and the stains which now marred his pillow, arose within the lawyer an immense wave of dread.

He slipped from the room, down the stairs, and encountered Cook as he sat for breakfast. She greeted him with a broad smile. “Did you sleep well, Sir?”

Avoiding her gaze, he gave a slight nod despite having stayed up half the night to watch Jekyll for any signs of negative changes in his condition.

_He would have told me…_

Jekyll walked in, pale and weak, supported by Poole’s sturdy grip. Pale though he was, the chemist smiled at Utterson while Poole drew back his chair and helped him sit. The butler stared warily at his master, his gaze lingering on the black scarf pulled taut round his neck, yet attempted a consoling smile and asked if Jekyll required anything.

Both servants exchanged a glance; their master seemed to fall ill too easily in recent days, and they feared some rotten business with Hyde-- that he had invited Jekyll for drinks, only to slip him poison, or that he was actively blackmailing him, or otherwise acting to cause him distress-- but they were _loathe_ to voice their fears and rather kept watchful eyes on him while heat he ate.

The food offended him. He took a small bite of his eggs, replaced the fork, then stared blankly at his plate for a long moment.

“Are you ill, Sir?” Poole asked, moving forward to place a hand on his master’s shoulder. “It would do you well to eat.” 

Jekyll lifted his gaze to Utterson. “Quite well, quite well… only, I dreamt I was Hyde last night!”


	2. chapter 10 excerpt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another short excerpt from the Dinner Party Thing! 
> 
> Now that Jekyll's a vampire and Utterson knows that he's Hyde, things are a bit... interesting. Jekyll has not made a public appearance since he fell ill, and no one beyond his immediate friends and household know that he died.

Since his rather  **sudden** illness, Jekyll had not made a public appearance, and he slept often until noon, despite his servants’ best attempts to rouse him. He seemed  _ younger _ in his sleep. Peaceful. His lips, often in a smile. His hair, grey as it had been the last several years, yet a splash of red stood out amongst the grey, mimicking a similar  _ lack _ of color in Hyde’s hair. 

He had  _ changed _ , after all. His aggression and weariness showed themselves more prominently in his expressions; his words were colder, harsher, and spoken with little regard for others, and yet he was, despite it all, the same old Harry Jekyll who could fix anyone with a smile and who only acted for the betterment of society. It was as if  _ nothing _ had changed.

Utterson could sometimes scarcely believe the truth which had long frightened him. Such actions and attitudes as belonged to Hyde seemed hardly  _ proper _ for a  **gentleman** of Jekyll’s character-- and yet  _ propriety  _ **must** explain that creature’s existence. He was a  _ bravo _ , borne of Jekyll’s wickedness and allowing him a means of indulgence. The lawyer stared ahead as he waited and wondered how he might enter the laboratory and consume--  _ no, _ he would need to  _ concoct  _ the draught himself, acting from memory (as Jekyll had written nothing down) and pray he would not  _ die _ for such freedom...


	3. Chapter 11 Excerpt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An excerpt from chapter eleven of "The Dinner Party Thing". Now that Utterson has passed, Jekyll is grief-stricken and perhaps not quite in his right mind, and is thus willing to spend his nights (and maybe even his days) lurking about the graveyard, waiting for something to change-- for the bell to ring-- and he might just disappear for a week or so, leaving Hyde to guard the graveyard.

Jekyll could not breathe.

Utterson was _gone_ \-- **_completely_ ** and **_truly_ ** gone, and it was unknown when he would return. Part of him doubted _if_ he would return.

Mr. Guest had hastened to fetch the doctor, who could merely stare for a moment at his friend’s lifeless form with tears welling in his eyes. No matter how furiously he blinked, he could _not_ suppress them. Wiping his eyes, he stepped into the room, took a deep breath, and placed his hand over Jekyll’s.

“You have to let go now, Henry…”

Jekyll stared at Lanyon’s hand a moment. Then, taking a long look at Utterson, he sighed and let go of his love’s hand. “Harrison,” he croaked.

“What of him?”

“The wounds… on his neck. When did they heal?”

A sigh, then, “After he passed. Are Gabriel’s gone?”

He moved forward to examine Utterson’s neck and found that the wounds _were_ , indeed, missing. “Peculiar… but that does not matter. What are we to do with him?”

Both Jekyll and Guest eyed him suspiciously.

“What do you mean, Sir?”

Lanyon began to pace. “I declared William dead and had him interred- and would have done the same for _you_ , Henry, had you not made such a speedy recovery, and now _Gabriel_ is gone, and **_I’m_ ** to declare it? No,” he stated, and again, “ ** _No_** _.”_

“Don’t be _foolish,_ Hastie-- you cannot claim it was a heart attack, or that he is in a coma-- you are his _friend,_ and understand what is happening to him, and--”

“--he deserves _respect_ , Sirs,” Guest cut in, looking rather sheepish.

“What do you mean?”

Guest swallowed before answering, “he should be buried, as is only fitting, and we can take turns waiting…”

“No,” Jekyll interrupted, standing abruptly. _“I_ shall wait for him.”


End file.
